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3-in-5'ers: The Elite Oscar Club That George Clooney Joined This Year

Fox Searchlight Pictures

'The Descendants' star is just the 16th man to score at least 3 best actor Oscar noms within a 5-year span. 10 of the others won at least once during their streaks.

In the history of the Oscars, only 16 men have been well-respected and well-liked enough by the Academy to score at least three best actor nominations within a span of five years. (Amazingly, two of them had two such streaks, bringing the total number of streaks to 18.)

The most recent actor to join this elite list: George Clooney, whose best actor nomination this year for The Descendants follows best actor noms for Michael Clayton (2007) and Up in the Air (2009). Clooney already has a best supporting actor Oscar under his belt for Syriana (2005) but has yet to win one for best actor.

Although Clooney lost this year's best actor SAG Award to Jean Dujardin (The Artist), and though the past seven winners of that prize went on to repeat at the Oscars, he can take heart from the fact that 9 of the 17 other streaks of three (or more) best actor noms-in-five years produced at least one statuette, five for the third film in the streak (as would also be the case for Clooney).